Gentlemen Prefer Succubi

“Wasn’t that the plan all along, my dear?” The queen’s eerie, purring voice sounded behind me, and I froze in place. Oh, God.

I turned slowly to face her. “I can explain …”

Nitocris crossed elegant arms over her chest, her red eyes burning into me. She was dressed in a dark red pantsuit that looked painted onto her, highlighting the menacing bloodred of her eyes and lips. Behind her stood several vampire goons dressed in black suits and long, dark trench coats. One of them clutched a comatose Noah, hands and feet bound, his face badly cut.

Oh, Noah. My heart ached just looking at him.

The queen smiled down at me, showing rows and rows of sharklike teeth. “An explanation? I think I should like that.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Hands shoved me toward the ruins of the Aten Temple and I stumbled, trying desperately to keep my balance with my hands tied behind my back.

“Hey, not so rough,” I protested. “If you want this halo so bad, you’re going to have to treat me with a bit of respect.”

A hand jabbed me in the back, knocking me down. My cheek slammed into the dirt and the world exploded in black and red.

That one was gonna hurt in the morning.

Someone hauled me up from behind and I spat sand out of my mouth, mentally cussing out my captors. “Real classy,” I retorted, though due to my swelling lip, it came out sounding more brain-damaged than tough. Way to keep your cool, dumbass.

A hand brushed the dirt off my sleeve, and I turned … only to stare into Zane’s eyes. I shrugged violently, trying to fling his hand off my shoulder, hurt betrayal coursing through my veins. My chin lifted, daring him to say something.

His thumb brushed under my lip, wiping away the blood from my split lip. “You shouldn’t have come, Jackie,” he whispered, his gaze darting over to Nitocris. “I have this handled.”

“Handled?” I screeched, jerking away from him and stumbling away a few steps. “You left me tied to the bed in our hotel and kidnapped my friends. How is that ‘handling’ anything? You totally screwed me!”

“In more ways than one,” Remy quipped dryly from her place on the ground.

I resisted the urge to kick sand at her, focusing my hate on Zane. How had I ever trusted him?

“Touching little scene,” Nitocris purred, interrupting my anger as she stepped forward to wrap her hand around Zane’s throat. He stiffened at her touch, the look in his eyes growing shuttered. “Now tell me, my sweet … when were you planning on telling me that you were here to retrieve the halo?”

Zane’s cocky, teasing smile brushed across his face. “What, you didn’t get my memo?”

The queen’s hand tightened around his throat, and he wheezed for breath. Nitocris’s face was furious.

What was going on?

I shot a confused look at Remy, who shrugged. She didn’t know either.

“You think to subvert me?” The queen hissed at Zane, lifting him into the air with one hand. Her fingers gouged into his throat. “You think to take power from me when it is so close?”

Zane’s pale face was turning an alarming shade of purple, and the idiot inside me that was still charmed by him couldn’t do anything. “You’re hurting him,” I yelled, fists clenched in frustration. “Let him go or I’m not doing this for you.”

Eyes the color of blood focused in on me, and Zane collapsed to the ground as the queen’s interest turned to me. “You think to tell me what to do, little one?” Her voice rumbled low, dangerous.

“Uh,” I said, backing away in fear. My hands jerked in their bonds behind my back, and I could feel blood snaking over my wrists, rubbed raw through my frantic motions. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Zane’s on your side.” I forced a fake smile to my face.

“Is he, now?” Her eyes narrowed. “Did he fuck you?”

My eyebrows raised at her vehement question and my gaze flicked over to the nearly comatose Noah. Awkward. “Well, that’s a bit personal, don’t you think-”

“Don’t say anything, Jackie,” Zane called hoarsely as he picked himself up. “It’s a trap, no matter what you say.”

“Touching,” the queen sneered. “Your answer does not matter. I can smell the stink of your blood-blood I expressly forbade him to take-all over him. He has not obeyed one of my orders since joining you on this little trip. Not that that should surprise me,” the queen said, her tone cold. “Zane has never followed instructions well. This is why I followed him.” Again, I caught a flash of razor-sharp teeth.

She had told him not to sleep with me? Confused, I stared at Zane. His eyes met mine, and I saw a softness there. Weakness, the queen would say.

I remembered lying in bed with Zane after we had just made love. He kissed my mouth. “I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do, Jackie. Ever.”

Oh …

Oh, hell. Was Zane breaking the rules for me? Was he in love with me?

The enormity of the situation crashed down on me and I slumped to the ground. What a mess. I wanted to bury my head in my hands, but they were still tied behind me.

Queen Nitocris gave a cold laugh. “I think you see the problem as I do, my little slut. What does one do with a vampire who’s lost his killing edge, other than put him out of his misery? What does one do with a minion that won’t obey, other than destroy him?”

My eyes squeezed shut. I was angry at Zane, furious even, but I didn’t want that to happen. “Don’t hurt him,” I said, hating the way that it sounded like begging. “I’ll do whatever you want.”

“No, Jackie,” Zane said, trying to get to me. “It’s a trick.”

“Fuck you, Zane,” I said, sick and tired of it all. “It’s all a trap anyhow. Does it matter what I pick?” I glared at him, shaking my head. “There’s no way out of this except her way.”

Nitocris held all the pieces. Her goons loomed over Noah, who had yet to speak. I saw him twitching, which told me that he was conscious or heading there. Remy and Stan were tied and bound near the queen’s feet, and Zane-well …

I couldn’t trust Zane. I didn’t know what he was up to.

I lifted my chin and tilted my head. “If you want me to get this halo for you, you’ll need to untie me.”

“Of course,” the queen said, her tone accommodating once more. She arched a brow meaningfully at Zane.

Indecision warred across his handsome face, then he slowly headed over to me. His fingers brushed against mine as his hands moved to undo the knots.

“Whatever you do, Jackie, don’t give her the halo.” Zane’s soft words murmured against my back as he worked to free my hands. “It’ll be the end of the world as we know it. If you thought the world was bad before, it’ll be Hell on earth if she gets the halo.”

I forced my face to remain carefully neutral. The queen was watching me, her body tense with impatience, arms crossed over her bloodred pantsuit.

I tried to think of a plan, any plan, but couldn’t. My hands were free in moments and I brought them in front of me, rubbing my wrists. “What now?”

The queen glanced at the dawn-lit sky. “You don’t have much time.” She extended a long fingernail at the flat ruin that remained of the temple. “Go to the heart of the temple itself and speak his name, and it will come to you.” The evil smile split her face again. “Then you will bring it to me.”

“On the contrary,” A strange voice came out of nowhere, ringing through the dusty ruin. The sound of a gun being cocked echoed in the stillness. “You’re going to bring the halo to me.”